House Judiciary Committee Member Calls For Inquiry Into Trump Ethics

Thursday, NY Congressman Rep. Jerrold Nadler filed what is known as a “resolution of inquiry,” on Trump that will essentially force the House Judiciary Committee to take a stance on the President and his potentially shady ties. Nadler said he elected to make the move because the Republican party has failed to look into Trump’s ethical issues:

“Donald Trump has refused to step away from his business interests in any meaningful way, his foreign entanglements are likely unconstitutional, he has repeatedly refused to disclose his financial assets, and he is clouded by the specter of Russian intervention in the election and his Administration,” Nadler said in a statement. “Republicans have shown zero willingness to follow through on their duty to conduct oversight, and they must be held accountable if they are truly willing to abdicate this constitutional obligation and must be made to answer to the American people for that failure.”

Nadler specifically singled out Judiciary Committee chairman Bob Goodlatte (R-Va.) and House Speaker Paul Ryan (R-Wis.) for downplaying Trump’s potentially shady business ties which may hold conflicts of interest with his position.

We’ve seen a lot of reports circulating claiming that his filing is the start of an impeachment but that’s not exactly what it is — although the impeachment process could end up being the result of the filing depending on what is revealed in the inquiry.

Now that Nadler has filed, the Judiciary Committee has to respond to the resolution of inquiry within 14 Congressional workdays. The committee can report the resolution favorably, reject it or revise it and if it chooses not to act within that time period, Nadler could request the resolution be discharged in order for the House as a whole to vote. Nadler is requesting information related to investigations of Trump, his associates, foreign business interests and conflict of interest laws (remember when his publicist spent so much time during his first press conference talking about emoluments???). If the resolution passes, the Justice Department has to provide the House with any information they may have discovered during criminal or counterintelligence investigations.

Impeachment involves the levying of charges against a government official who has committed “treason, bribery, or other high crimes and misdemeanors.” The indictment comes from the House, and if a majority of lawmakers support impeachment the case advances to the Senate. The Senate then begins a trial with witnesses and cross-examinations, and a two-thirds majority is required to convict an official. In the event of a conviction, the official is immediately removed from office and could be barred from holding office in the future or face criminal prosecution.

It was all fun and games when Trump was calling Hillary a crook, now it’s about time we see who the real crook is. Then he’s gonna be the one hearing the calls to, “Lock Him Up! Lock Him Up!”